Sentry of the Arcane

Chapter 31: Sophie

Mr. Wallace wasn't kidding when he said that the warehouse was in the middle of a dry area. I frown as Mr. Wallace pulls up to the front entrance of the old warehouse. It's made of bricks and slathered with grey paint that's been peeling off over the years it's been standing. And everything else- oh, who am I kidding?

There's literally nothing around us for miles on end.

"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Laurel asks tentatively, her eyes wide. She sees the peeling paint and shrinks slightly into her seat.

I place a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't have to come," I remind her. "You can stay here and I'll be right back. It'll be easier, Laurel."

Laurel shakes her head. "Nope. I'm coming. Audrey doesn't know about the warehouse anyways."

I nod in reluctant agreement. "That's true... Alright. Let's go." I then open the car door and quickly exit, forcing myself to not be intimidated by the looming building. As I walk to the front entrance, Laurel trudges somewhat reluctantly behind me. I secretly wish for her to not come and to change her mind, but when I look behind me, I can her face set with determination. I sigh, but don't verbally argue.

I suddenly remember Mr. Wallace and look behind me. My eyes widen when he's gone, car and all.

"What is it?" Laurel asks, beginning to turn around.

"It's just the sun. It seems to be rising, so we should just go inside already," I hastily say, grabbing her arm. At the doors, I push against it, shocked to find it unlocked. Dread pools into my stomach as Laurel and I sneakily creep into the darkness, closing the door and shunning away our natural light. Luckily, I can barely make out the outlines of the metal shelves any warehouse is supposed to have.

Glad to still be holding onto Laurel, I take the lead by walking towards the nearest outline my eyes can see. As we walk towards the shelf as protection, my arm bumps against something metal. Pain shoots up through my arm and I bite my lip to keep myself for yelping out. Instead, I unintentionally tighten my grip on Laurel, causing her to whisper, "What happened? Did someone see us?"

I exhale, not realizing that I've been holding my breath in as well. "No, nothing happened," I breathe, loosening my grip slightly. "And I don't think we've been-"

I hear a squeak behind me and some muttering. Wondering why Laurel squeaked, I ask, "Did you-" I cut myself off, realizing that I'm not holding Laurel's wrist anymore. My breathing becoming chopped and my heart beginning to race wildly, I quietly yet frantically open and close my hand in search for her wrist or arm. When I feel her arm again, I sigh in relief. "Where'd you go?" I ask quietly.

"Nowhere. I just fell back a bit." Laurel hesitates momentarily before adding, "My clothing just snagged onto one of the shelf-thingies."

I start to nod, but another question enters my mind. "Why did you make a noise, like a squeal or squeak?" I ask, making my voice softer on purpose.

Laurel's arm tenses up, her hand becoming rather clammy at my question. "Nothing bad happened," Laurel assures me. "I think it's just the pressure of this situation weighing down on me."

"Oh." We then walk more in silence. "Do you want to wait a bit?"

Laurel exhales sharply before saying, "N- no. We should keep going on, though." Accidentally raising her voice, she says, "Look over there!"

Quietly shushing her, I quickly look around to find a hallway with dim lighting. Warily, I slowly creep forward, the dim lights creating deep shadows of the two of us. I begin to turn my head, but Laurel quickly says, "Um... what was that?"

I stop, Laurel crashing into me my accident. Whispering a quick apology, I look forward. After a minute of seeing nothing but a slightly lit hallway, I ask, "What was what?"

I'm first met with silence, but after a few minutes, I hear her say, "I- I think I saw a person turning the corner..." She pauses. "Yeah- yeah. I know I saw someone turn a right."

I nod. "Do you want me to let go of your arm?"

"N- no!"

Slightly taken aback, I tighten my grasp on her wrist, turning right like she'd instructed. We keep on going straight for a few minutes before I stop. Laurel bumps into me again and says, "What happened now? Why'd you stop?"

I move my mouth to form words, but no words come out. I inwardly curse myself for my silence as I stare at myself in the mirror in front of me. My pale face somehow blanches more as I meet the heinous gaze of the man in black behind the female Altruistic. My heart leaps into my throat as I still struggle to find my voice.

Laurel then stares at the mirror, her eyes widening. Half a shriek escapes from her before the man in black hits Laurel squarely on the back of her head. I squeak quietly when I see her body drop like weights from our reflection.

Fear clouding any rationality, I swivel around to see the man begin to lift his hand. Realizing that he's going to do the same thing Mr. Wallace- and later on myself- did to Fitz, my instincts kick in. I quickly swing my hand up like I did before up to the man's left temple. I cover my ears in a failed attempt to block the screams as the man collapses, unconscious before he hit the cool tile floor.

Seeing Laurel's unconscious body sends my mind into internal chaos. The only option that I can think of is dragging her by her arms. I will myself not to throw up as I look down at her sleeping face. My eyes widen as I realize that I didn't check if she was bleeding. I then proceed to feel all parts of her head, relieved that my fingers come back without blood.

After my arms are sore, I glance up and see that I don't know which way I came from and which way I'm going. Inwardly groaning, I gently lay Laurel down and stand up straight, stretching my sore back.

And then I hear it.

A click.

The sound of a weapon being readied.

I turn around to see a white gun pointed a few centimeters away from my forehead. My eyes widen and my heart begins to increase, but I'm able to keep my composure not too shattered.

This time, a man in white clothes, chestplate, and helmet is my attacker. The man clicks his gun again, and pulls the trigger.

Instead of a bullet, I see a miniscule teal crystal being shot at the very center of my forehead. I feel something tiny poke at my head, but to take it off.

And then the pain comes in.

My mind as a whole throbs in agony once. I fall onto my knees.

Second wave... I scream, feeling the pain of the circlet when it was first on my head, but at the same time, it's worse than the metal headpiece.

And the third wave....

I succumb to the pain.